Job Ready Tip #1: Thank You Notes

Job Ready Tip Number 1:  Handwrite and Mail/Deliver Thank You Notes.

In a market with TONS more applicants than open job positions, wouldn’t you want to do everything you possibly could to help you land a job? I would.

That’s what struck me about this blog post I just read on culpwrit, titled “Wow Factor: Handwritten Thank You.”

Notice what the author writes here:

“Our wise receptionist . . . stopped me Friday morning to show me something she’s never seen before: three hand-written envelopes containing thank-you notes.”

Each of these handwritten thank you notes were prepared by a smart job candidate for the three individuals who had

A professional Thank You card.

conducted the interviews, and each commented on how “unusual” and “memorable” such a gesture was.

Memorable. Unusual.

Wow! Sounds like EXACTLY the results I’d want after interviewing with a prospective employer (or client).

ACTION ITEM:

As simple as it might sound, if you want to help prospective employers remember you in a good way, then mail or hand-deliver a handwritten Thank You Note after the fact to the person you met with (one that will arrive within 1-3 days). And if you met with more than one person, send each their own handwritten Thank You Note.

I know that’s really basic, even obvious. However, something so basic might be the one thing you do that gets you invited back for a 2nd interview or helps you land the job.

Job Ready Tips: Standing Out in a Crowd

Although I’ve barely begun to explain the background behind (or the premise of) being (or becoming) Job Ready, I realized a moment ago that sometimes you have to just jump into the deep end of the pool instead of slowly dipping a toe into the water.

What do such platitudes mean? Simply this, although I do intend to continue to lay out Job Ready-ness within this blog (and what all of that means), I also just came across something on the Web that I’ve got to share right now.

So . . . moving forward, as I come across or feel impressed about an idea, concept or thought that I believe will help you the reader become more Job Ready, I will share it here under the heading of a Job Ready Tip. And the first Job Ready Tip arrives momentarily in the very next post.